My never ending search for awesomeness has taken me around the world but I've found some of my…read morefavorite places where you least expect them. On a recent trip heading back from Chicago you to my ranch just south of Kansas City I took a road less traveled and noticed the old mower shop in my home town or Monmouth had closed but something caught me eye. Actually, a lot of things caught my eyes. What's this? An antique shop? We've all seen plenty of those but this appeared to be more. Unfortunately, the place was closed so I looked them up on Facebook as I saw they didn't open the next day until 10 and I had many miles to go so I didn't want to delay my departure so imagine my surprise when the owner emailed me back and offered to open early so I could check this place out. I've always been a guy who likes crusty industrial pieces but also appreciate many antique pieces and boy did this place deliver. They had it all and the owner is a kindred spirit as we both appreciated many of the same things. In no time my pile of "can't live without that" grew. This place was a goldmine but not just for folks looking for the things I was, their architectural salvage selection was incredible and I only wished I had my list of door and window sizes as this place is full of beautiful and functional pieces unlike the cheapo crap you can buy at the big box stores that cost you many times more. I ended up filling up my truck with items that not only were beautiful but also extremely affordable. Much better pricing than I've seen elsewhere to the point I didn't even try to negotiate but I suspect I could have but with a selection like that combined with their prices I damn near had to pinch myself for my good luck and having such a wonderful owner who herself is a true artist that has a passion to rescue and give a second life to pieces worth preserving. As Arnold says.... "I'll be back". The shop, selection, prices and most definitely the owner were kick ass in my book. Thank you CherIt Forward

Happen to be in Galesburg & wanted to check out an antique store. All I can say is WOW! The pieces…read morethey have are beautiful and unique. The atmosphere was fantastic, so many options and interesting items to see. The owners were a sweet couple who were helpful and warm. The prices are varied but the items are worth it. Let's not forget about Sophie, the store greeter... love the pup! I look forward to visiting again... sooner than later. Check it out!!

Lots of antique furniture and unique pieces. Prices very good on furniture…read more Attic is crazy with boards and lots of salvage. Worth the stop

What a cool little shop tucked in next to the coffee shop! Stopped in as I was walking back to my…read morecar and ended up chatting with the owners and talking myself out of a lot of new treasures! This place seems to have it all from tiny trinkets to really cool painted antiques and upcycled furniture. The owners were super friendly and helpful. This place is one of those awesome surprises you can find tucked away in small towns all over Illinois. I may even have to make a trip back especially to this shop!

From the owner: We have a changing selection of fabulous stuff from antique to retro. Linens, glass crocks and…read morerusty junk.

Awesome antique store with a cafe I wish I could have dined at. I'm starting with the cafe. If I…read morelived in Peoria I would eat there every week. I'm recommending it without having tried the food,. It smelled delicious. The menu look great and the prices were very affordable. But, the thing that clinched it for me was the dining area. Vintage Formica tables with matching chairs and coordinating salt and pepper shakers. Too cute. Should have taken pics. Now for the antique or vintage items. Everything was nicely displayed, very clean and makes you want to impulse buy. I was happy to add to my Tupperware collection. Prices were reasonable.

every time i've been in here the owners were extremely rude & will follow you around relentlessly.read more

SJ Maranville says, Bob, call me back! Love your shop. Great items, great prices. Check it out.read more

This is a wonderful shop with lots of handmade and repurposed treasures for sale. I absolutely love…read moreit. Good location downtown and easy to get to. Shoppe people are friendly and ready to help with your needs. Highly recommend a visit soon!

What an awesome place to shop! We are fairly new to the area and I'm so glad to live close to this…read moregem. They have sooo many booths and a wide variety of items. I don't collect anything in particular, just a little bit of everything and I never leave here empty handed. There's something for every taste and every price range- one of my favorite places to go antiquing!

Really interesting place to shop and meander. It's quite large, so don't go in with the…read moreanticipation of seeing EVERYTHING, because you will kinda hate yourself by the time you get out. However, I do like that it's really reasonably priced - I just bought a large globe of the Earth (fairly recent too) for just 12 dollars. The staff also has a great knowledge of the contents of the store, and if you ask them a vague-ish question (i.e. Chinese objects/clothing for a cultural lesson on the Chinese New Year), they're able to point you in a very specific direction. Also, this is the location of the annual Galesburg Chocolate Festival. For less than the price of a movie ticket you can go in and sample basically chocolate anythings to your heart's content.

Country Fair Mall is located in Coal Valley IL. Not too far of a drive from the Quad Cities and…read moreprobably one of the larger antique malls in the area. It's a standard antique mall with rows and rows of vendor booths. Country Fair Mall owns two buildings on the property which are strangely seperated by a second shop (The Cottage Antiques & Co). While The Cottage Antiques & Co is more upscale the two Country Fair Mall buildings are more my style. Most of the booths at Country Fair Mall are pretty plain and some require a little digging and rummaging. That depends on the vendor of course... Same with prices. Some are a little high, some are at market, and there are some great deals to be found too! Depending on the vendor... As far as I can tell there was only one staff member working in each building so if you needed a case opened you might have to wait if there was a line at the register... Both gentlemen were polite and easy to work with. Both my girlfriend and I walked out with purchases. My day was made when I found a Gold Medal dynamite box for under market price. These regularly go for $125+ online and I paid $35 (I think). A heckuva deal... I didn't even have to think twice about it! I collect stuff like that... Things might be a little dusty and more rustic than other shops... We had a great time walking through both buildings and shopping! We were there on the July 4th weekend and they were open on the holiday itself... More than anything else I guess... We were just really grateful they were open and we had something fun to do!

Three buildings and not a single person greeted us as we came into the store. Literally ignored us…read more Dealers were acting as if we were in their way. Selection definitely needs approved. It was getting really boring looking at glasses in vases in every booth.... Customer service 0 Selection in the booths greatly needs improvement from the dealers.